E-Services Translation Utilizing Machine Translation and Translation Memory

ABSTRACT

A system and method for translating data from a source language to a target language is provided wherein machine generated target translation of a source sentence is compared to a database of human generated target sentences. If a matching human generated target sentence is found, the human generated target sentence may be used instead of the machine generated sentence, since the human generated target sentence is more likely to be a well-formed sentence than the machine generated sentence. The system and method does not rely on a translation memory containing pairs of sentences in both source and target languages, and minimizes the reliance on a human translator to correct a translation generated by machine translation.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a continuation and claims the prioritybenefit of U.S. patent Ser. No. 11/953,569 filed Dec. 10, 2007, entitled“E-SERVICES TRANSLATION UTILIZING MACHINE TRANSLATION AND TRANSLATIONMEMORY”, which is a continuation of U.S. patent Ser. No. 11/735,763filed Apr. 16, 2007, which is a continuation of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 11/515,398 filed Sep. 5, 2006, which is a continuation of U.S.patent application Ser. No. 11/123,071, filed May 6, 2005, which is acontinuation in part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/662,758,entitled “E-SERVICES TRANSLATION PORTAL SYSTEM,” filed Sep. 15, 2000,which claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/154,434,filed Sep. 17, 1999, all of which are incorporated by reference hereinas to their entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to a system and method for at leastpartially translating data and facilitating the completion of thetranslation process. More in particular, the present invention isdirected to a system and method for translating data which includes asource of data to be translated, a network connected to the source ofdata, a translation source connected to the network, and a portal systemconnected to the network for retrieving the data to be translated, andat least partially translating that data.

The system and method translates data by combining translation memoryand machine translation, and in particular example based machinetranslation (EBMT).

Still further, the system and method stores source language sentencesand target language sentences in the translation memory regardless ofwhether the sentences are matched to corresponding sentences in theother language.

Currently, there exist individual translation memory tools for use on atranslator's workstation. Such translation aids analyze documents on aword-by-word basis, treating each new document as a totally new project.Such systems suffer from reduced efficiency in that they fail to takeinto account redundancies found in a document, similarities of onedocument to a previously translated document, and provide no means toenable team collaboration or involve the customer in the translationprocess.

There is therefore a need to provide a centralized translation databasefrom which prior translations can be utilized to at least partiallytranslate new documents to be translated. There is further a need toinvolve the translation customer in an iterative process, withintermediate approvals of translation work being obtained as atranslation project progresses.

In an era where businesses are able to take advantage of a worldwidemarketplace utilizing a global computer network (Internet) it isimportant that such businesses are able to easily solicit business inmultiple languages. Therefore, many businesses desire to have their Webpages translated into multiple languages, so that they are able tosolicit business in many different markets. Therefore, a system, whichcan upload a Web page and duplicate it in multiple languages, is highlydesirable. Further, as much multiple languages is highly desirable.Further, as much of the language of anyone Web page is similar to thatof other Web pages, it is further desirable to make use of thetranslations of previously translated Web pages to aid in thetranslation of other Web pages. By such an arrangement, the presentinvention reduces the workload of translators, whether it is translationof Web pages or other documents.

Further, it would be advantageous if a system and method could bedevised that did not rely on a translation memory containing pairs ofsentences in both source and target languages. It would also beadvantageous to have a translation system and method minimized thereliance on a human translator to correct a translation generated bymachine translation (MT).

While reducing the workload of translators by making use of translationsof previously translated documents and materials is advantageous, it isdesirable to further reduce the workload of translators by implementinga system whereby machine generated translation, in a target language, ofa source sentence is compared to a database of human generated targetsentences. In this manner if a human generated target sentence is found,the human generated target sentence can be used instead of the machinegenerated sentence, since the human generated target sentence is morelikely to be a well-formed sentence than the machine generated sentence.

Example based machine translation (EBMT) is a more language independentapproach than machine translation. Example based machine translationworks on units of data smaller than the sentences utilized in machinetranslation. Example based machine translation uses a bilingual corpusto align not only sentences, but also phrases or even words from sourcelanguage to target language. If a target sentence match a sourcesentence is not found, a target sentence might be built from phrasesthat have been already translated in different sentences stored in thetranslation memory. While a well defined domain example based machinetranslation can retrieve correct terms and phrases, it has a troublegenerating well formed sentences.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A system for translating data is provided. The translating systemincludes a source of data to be translated, and a network connected tothe source of data. The system further includes a translation sourceconnected to the network and a portal system connected to the networkfor retrieving the data to be translated. The portal system includes asystem for at least partially translating the data and a system fortransmitting the at least partially translated data to the translationsource for completing the translation of the data.

From another aspect, a system for translating data transmittedelectronically through a global computer network is provided. The systemincludes at least one user terminal coupled to the global computernetwork for transmitting and receiving user related data therethrough.The system also includes at least one vendor terminal coupled to theglobal computer network for transmitting and receiving vendor relateddata therethrough. The system includes a first computer coupled to theglobal computer network for exchanging user related data with the atleast one user terminal and vendor related data with the at least onevendor terminal through the global computer network. A file storagememory is provided which is coupled to the first computer for storinguser related current document data representing documents to betransmitted from the at least one user terminal. A second computer isprovided that is coupled to the first computer and the file storagememory for at least partially translating the current document data. Thesystem also includes a database of previously entered document data andassociated translated document data coupled to the second computer. Thesecond computer compares the current document data with the previouslyentered document data to match the current document data withcorresponding translated document data in the database to form the atleast partial translation of the current document data. The at leastpartial translation is sent to the first computer and transmittedtherefrom to the at least one vendor terminal for completing translationof the current document data and uploading the completed translation tothe first computer. The first computer includes a system fortransmitting the completed translation to the at least one user terminaland the second computer. The second computer includes a system foradding the current document data and the completed translation to thedatabase.

In order to overcome the limitations of example based machinetranslation, the present system and method can store source and targetlanguage sentences in the translation memory regardless of whether thesentences are in matched pairs. In an extreme situation, the translationmemory contains only a huge collection of source and target languagesentences, where none of the sentences are paired together. Uponreceiving source data, the system and method of the present inventionwill search the translation memory. If no match is found in thetranslation memory, the machine translation is accessed. The machinetranslation will then produce a target sentence. This target sentencemay have correct terms and phrases, but it is very likely that thetarget sentence will be poorly constructed. Instead of presenting thetarget sentence to a human translator for correction, the system andmethod makes use of the matching capability of the translation memory tofind a similar target sentence. This search can be executed over all theavailable target sentences in the translation memory, even if thesentences are not paired up with corresponding source languagesentences. If a good match is found, the system and method will selectthat sentence instead of the machine generated sentence. The sentencecould then be sent to a human translator for a final check.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The foregoing summary of the invention, as well as the followingdetailed description of preferred embodiments, is better understood whenread in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which are includedby way of example, and not by way of limitation with regard to theclaimed invention.

FIG. 1 is an architectural overview diagram of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating the translation and managementarchitecture of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is an illustration of the translation memory architecture of thepresent invention;

FIG. 5 is a flow chart representing the translation process of thepresent invention;

FIG. 6 is a flow chart illustrating the order process of the presentinvention;

FIG. 7 is a flow diagram illustrating the glossary translation processof the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a flow chart illustrating the document translation process ofthe present invention;

FIG. 9 is a flow chart illustrating the redundant translation process ofthe present invention;

FIG. 10 is an illustration of the order of submission process of thepresent invention;

FIG. 11 is an illustration of the translation order assignment processof the present invention;

FIG. 12 is an illustration of the order completion flow of the presentinvention;

FIG. 13 is a flow chart illustrating the glossary creation process;

FIG. 14 is an illustration of the text comparison process of the presentinvention; and

FIG. 15 is a flow chart illustrating the method of the combined machinetranslation and translation memory according to another embodiment ofthe present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF ILLUSTRATIVE EMBODIMENTS

The present invention is directed to a language translation systemmethod that may be implemented as a portal on a globalcomputer/communications network and combines advanced translationtechnologies with human translators for carrying out cost-efficientmultilingual electronic commerce initiatives.

In FIGS. 1-4, system 1000 is illustrated. System 1000 provides alanguage portal implemented on the Internet. A plurality of customers 2access the translation server network 8 through the global computernetwork (Internet) 6. As will be described further in followingparagraphs, documents submitted by customers 2 to the translation servernetwork 8 are translated at least partially automatically by thelocalization engines 18 utilizing the multilingual translation database20, by offline translators 4 and/or online translators 26, through anintranet network.

Looking at the operation of system 1000, one or more users 2, using aWeb browser or like type software access the Web server 10 through theglobal computer network 6. The E-services Translation Portal (ETP) 10allows users 2 to establish translation projects and store ETP and flowdata in the flow database 14 for establishing a workflow for thecustomer's documents to be translated, also providing reports to theadministrator 22 and the flow designer 24. As the number of customersincreases, additional servers 16 are brought online. Customer documentsto be translated are stored in the file system memory 12. The documentsstored in file system storage 12 are subsequently ‘processed bylocalization engines 18 wherein the documents are identified as to filetype, i.e. HTML, GIF, anyone of a multiplicity of word processor, text,or spreadsheet file types. Next, the file is separated into translatableand non-translatable strings and stored in the translation database 20.Once the translatable strings of the file have been identified, they arethen compared with previously translated strings to find similar stringswhich have’ already been translated. If a string matches more than onepreviously translated string, the customer's string to be translated atthis time will be matched with the prior translation which has thehighest frequency of use, or from the latest or user specified single ormultiple previous translation versions. The partially translateddocument is also stored in the translation database 20.

The translation of the partially translated document is then completedby an online translator 26, or an offline translator 4, in accordancewith the workflow design established for the particular customer 2. Theworkflow design may specify a particular translator 4, 26 that thecustomer 2 has engaged. The vendor (translator) assigns a price per unitfor its work. This unit can be based on the number of words to betranslated, a number of hours, etc. The customer selects a vendor basedon a number of criteria including, but not limited to, resumes,references, customer ratings, volume, location, expertise and the like,which information is transferred to the customer 2 by the server 10.

Customers submit projects through the Internet to the translation servernetwork, where the Web server/ETP 10 and database 14 are utilized toprovide a measurement of the project. The size of the project isautomatically estimated and broken down by some number of units. Then,based on the number of units and the vendor's cost per unit, a quote isprovided to the customer through the server 10, which can also include aschedule and incremental costs. Alternately, the project may be enteredfor bid, where the customer submits its project to a selected list ofvendors from which quotes are received.

After the customer receives and approves a quote, the customer transmitsa contract to the vendor to perform the work. The selected vendor thenexecutes the contract electronically to accept the project. The factthat the vendor receives the project from the translation server network8, partially translated, reduces the costs of translation services. Thecustomer, using their connection to the translation server network 8through the Internet, can track the progress of the project, conductinterim reviews, provide interim approvals and, through the use of logfiles, has access to an audit trail.

Turning now to FIG. 2, such shows system 1000 from another perspective.Access to Web server/ETP 10 through the network 6 is accomplished bycustomers utilizing browsers for submitting translation jobs as part ofHTML pages 28. Vendors access the documents to be translated throughbrowser-based tools 30, 32 and 34. Web server/ETP 10 communicates withthe multilingual application server 38, the server 10 receiving thefiles and transmitting the files to the customer, while the applicationserver 38 creates the projects, creates orders, checks for thetranslatable strings and stores them in the translation database 20. Theapplication server 38 embodies servers 16, database 14, localizationengines 18, and the file system 12 of FIG. 1. The functions of servers10 and 38 can be implemented on a single computer or a network ofcomputers. Multilingual application server 38 communicates with themultilingual translation memory database 20 through the intranet 64, thenetwork that is internal to the translation server network 8, shown inFIG. 1. The translatable strings that are stored in translation database20 may also be processed by third party linguistic analysis utilities 48which may access the database. The translation memory database 20 isalso accessible by the online translators 26 through intranet 64.

Turning to FIG. 3, such shows the software architecture foraccomplishing the translation of input documents. The files stored inthe file system storage 12 may be in any of a plurality of differenttext documents or graphics formats 52 a, 52 b, and 52 c. Thelocalization engines 18 utilize utilities 54 a to interpret thosedifferently formatted documents, and utilize on-line manager and editorroutines 54 b for processing those documents. The processing of thosedocuments is done in cooperation with an open system multilinguallibrary 56 and the localization engines 18 communicate with thetranslation database 20 through an application program interface (API)66 utilizing an open protocol.

Referring to FIG. 4, such illustrates the translation memoryarchitecture. Translation database 20 stores multiple projects 100, 108which each include respective strings 102, 104, 106 and 110, 112, 114,116 to be translated. In the illustration, menus for use in a computerprogram are illustrated. The translated projects130 and 138 are alsostored in memory with the respective translated (French) strings 132,134, 136 and 140, 142, 144, 146. A database text table 120 is providedwhich includes pointers for finding the text in the translation database20. Each entry 120 a-120 n in the table 120 includes an ID which refersto the particular project, the language of the text, the text itself anda reference count, which indicates the number of different projectsutilizing that same text. Thus, the text “open file” 102 and 112 isreferred to as a single entry 120 a in the table 120. Similarly, thetranslated French text “ouvrir fichier” 132 and 142 are similarlyreferred to in the single database entry 120 b.

Where text incorporates a translated term in some other project n, suchis considered a subset of the preceding entry. Thus, the text “openfile” is considered a subset of the text “open file to load data” andthus the entry 120 n will include a reference pointing to the Tableentry 120 a. By that arrangement, a portion of the string “open file toload data” can be obtained from the previously translated string “openfile”. Thus, the translation process is simplified and the databaseoverhead is reduced. By maintenance of the translation database 20, theautomated translation system becomes more robust the more it is used, asevery string which has been previously translated need not be duplicatedby human translators. The translation database 20 can therefore beshared by multiple customers and vendors through the Internet.Localization engines 18 search the database for past translations.Translations which match, or just partially match are identified andadded to the file that is provided to the translation vendor 4, 26.

The advantages provided by the system can be clearly seen when oneconsiders a class of customers who would utilize the system. Forinstance, Web site owners who wish to duplicate their Web sites inmultiple languages are customers who would benefit from system 1000. Thetext found in most Web sites is between 50% and 60% redundant.Therefore, at least 50% to 60% of the time and money required fortranslation would be saved, as the redundant text strings found in agiven HTML file of a web site would be translated automatically, and notrequire the services of the vendor translator. Thus, over time, users ofsystem1000 would increasingly benefit by its expanded knowledgedatabase.

An example of a translation process workflow which would be establishedby the flow designer 24 is shown in FIG. 5. The process starts at 200and next goes to the, decision block 202, wherein it is determinedwhether a glossary is needed. A glossary is a collection of long phrasesfound in a document. In some cases, the customer may already have aglossary that is uploaded; in other cases it must be created. Glossariesare particularly useful where there are many translators working on aproject. One translator translates the glossary and then after reviewand approval by the client, or a reviewer contracted by the client, itcan be distributed to all the translators. The use of glossaries ensuresthat common terms are translated consistently across all files of acustomer's single project or multiple projects. The instant inventionprovides for creation of both default and custom glossaries. When adefault glossary is created, the strings are extracted automatically,and are therefore project specific. Custom glossaries can be created tostandardize terminology across projects, corporate divisions, or entirecorporations. The user can create as many glossaries as desired. Theglossaries are not used to automatically translate a project, but aregiven to all translators working on a client's project or projects, togive all the translators the same verbiage for use within theirrespective translations. The use of the common verbiage of the glossarykeeps the consistency at a high level.

If a glossary is needed, the flow passes to block 204 where the glossarygeneration process is initiated. From block 204, the flow passes todecision block 206 to determine whether there is redundant data. Ifthere is redundant data, the flow passes to block 208 wherein redundantprocessing is initiated. Thus, the reference count for the text stringsare scanned and only one string of a redundant group need be translated.From block 208, the actual document translation process is initiated inblock 210 and the translated document is generated in block 212. Fromblock 212, the flow passes to block 214, wherein alterations to the textdocument are made, such as changes to the font size and format of thedocument. From block 214, the flow passes to block 216, wherein thecustomer inspects the document. From there, the flow passes to block218, wherein the customer's final approval is received. From block 218,the flow passes to decision block 220 where it is determined whether thedocument has been finally reviewed. If it has, then the flow passes toblock 226 wherein the customer is billed. If the final review has notbeen completed, then the flow passes to block 222 wherein the documentis checked, and if problems are found, the flow passes back to block 214to cycle through the loop again. If there are no problems, or such havebeen fixed, the flow passes from block 222 to block 224 wherein thedocument is updated, as required. From block 224, the flow passes toblock 226, wherein the customer is billed. From block 226, the flowpasses to block 228, to indicate to the parent process, such as theorder process shown in FIG. 6 that workflow is complete.

In FIG. 6, the order process is shown. Starting from the start block250, the flow passes to block 252. In block 252, an account manager isassigned to the project that will be created in block 254. In block 254,the project and version (which language) is created by the customer andcan include creation of the workflow design (FIG. 5). From block 254,the flow goes to decision block 256, wherein it is determined whetherthe project and version are created properly. If they are, the flowpasses to block 260, otherwise, the flow passes to block 258, whereinthe assigned account manager checks and fixes the project and/orversion. From block 258, the flow passes to block 260. In block 260, theapplication programming interface 66 and the appropriate utility 54Abased on the file format of the document are called to extract thetranslatable strings. From block 260, the flow passes to decision block262, wherein it is determined whether the strings have been completelyextracted from the document. If the strings have been completelyextracted, the flow passes to block 266. If they have not, flow passesto block 264, wherein the account manager checks the document and fixesany problems therewith that are preventing the complete extraction ofthe translatable strings. From block 264, the flow passes to block 266,wherein it is determined how many target languages are to be providedfor the client, so the proper number of copies of the original file canbe made. From block 266, the flow passes to decision block 268 whereinit is determined whether there is a need for a glossary. If a glossaryis not required, flow passes to block 278. If, on the other hand, aglossary is required, the flow passes to decision block 270 wherein itis determined whether the customer has provided a glossary. If thecustomer has provided a glossary, the flow passes to block 274 where theglossary is imported and then flow passes to block 278. However, if noglossary is provided, the flow passes to block 272 wherein a glossary iscreated. Subsequent to creation of the glossary, the flow passes toblock 276 wherein the glossary is reviewed by the client. From block276, the flow passes to block 278 wherein the client selects thetranslator and reviewer (usually two different persons) for each targetfile. Subsequent to selection of the vendors in block 278, the flowpasses to block 280, wherein the customer confirms the order. From block280, the flow passes to decision block 284, wherein it is determinedwhether the order has been confirmed. If it has not, the flow passes toblock 282 wherein the account manager fixes the problem in obtaining anorder confirmation. In some cases, a client may have desired translationof their project into a particular number of target languages, forinstance ten, but the final cost for that quantity of translations mayresult in a quoted cost which exceeds the client's budget. Therefore,the client may then have to scale back the extent of their order or findnew vendors offering lower costs. Once the problems are fixed in block282, the flow passes back to block 280, to repeat the cycle in obtainingorder confirmation. After the order has been confirmed, the flow passesfrom block 284 to block 286 wherein the translation process isinitiated. The translation process is the flow diagram of FIG. 5, thusthe process of FIG. 6 is the parent process of that disclosed in FIG. 5.Therefore, the notification provided in block 228 of FIG. 5, is providedin block 286 of FIG. 6. From block 286, the process ends at block 288.

FIG. 7 is a flow diagram of the glossary translation process which isinitiated in block 204 of FIG. 5. From the start block 300, the flowpasses to block 302, wherein a translator 4 downloads the glossary fromthe Web server 10. The selected vendor 4 is sent an E-mail messageinforming them that the glossary is ready to be downloaded and providesa hyperlink to the Web page identifying the site from which the glossarymay be downloaded via Web based file transfer mechanisms including butnot limited to File Transfer Protocol (FTP). From block 302, the flowpasses to block 304, wherein the vendor provides the translation of theglossary into the desired target language or languages. From block 304,the flow passes to block 306, wherein the translated glossary isprovided to the customer for the customer's review. To insure that thecustomer agrees with the translation, a loop is provided which beginswith decision block 308 where it is determined whether or not thecustomer has approved the translated glossary. If the customer has notapproved it, flow passes to block 310, wherein the vendor fixes theproblems identified by the customer. From block 310, the flow passesback to block 306, to permit the customer to review the corrections madeby the vendor. Once the customer has approved the glossary, the flowpasses to block 312 wherein the translated glossary is attached(identified with) the document to be translated. From block 312, theflow passes to block 314, wherein the parent process, shown in FIG. 5,is notified that the glossary translation process has been completed.From block 314, the process terminates at block 316.

Block 210 of FIG. 5 initiates the document translation process. The flowchart for that process is illustrated in FIG. 8. From start block 320 inFIG. 8, the flow passes to block 322 wherein the vendor is sent anE-mail message describing the Web site location of the documents to betranslated, so that the vendor can inspect the documents. Flow thenpasses to block 324, wherein the translator downloads the documents foroffline translation. The flow then passes to block 326, wherein thetranslator performs the translation of the documents. Subsequently, uponcompletion of the translation, flow passes to block 328, wherein thetranslated documents are forwarded (uploaded) for review. The revieweris sent an E-mail indicating that the translation is ready for review.Flow then passes to block 330 wherein the reviewer downloads thetranslated documents. Subsequent to downloading the documents, the flowpasses to block 332 wherein the reviewer performs a review of all of thetranslated documents and makes any corrections necessary. From block332, the flow passes to block 334, wherein the reviewed documents, andespecially corrections, are checked. Such secondary review may becarried out by a second reviewer. From block 334, the flow then passesto block 336 wherein the reviewed translated documents are uploaded tothe Web server 10. The flow then passes to block 338, wherein the parentprocess, block 210 of FIG. 5, is notified that the translation processis complete. The process then ends at stop block 340.

Turning now to FIG. 9, such shows the redundant string translationprocess which is initiated by block 208 of FIG. 5. From the start block350, flow passes to block 352 wherein the redundant strings aredownloaded by the translator. From block 352, the flow passes to block354, wherein the translator translates the strings which have beenidentified as having multiple re-occurrences in the document. From block354, the block passes to block 356, wherein a reviewer, usually aseparate individual, reviews the translated strings. From block 356,flow passes to block 358, wherein the parent process is notified thatthe redundant string processing has been completed, such notificationbeing provided in block 208 of FIG. 5. From block 358, the processterminates at block 360.

Referring now to FIG. 10, such shows the order submission process fromanother perspective. The customer 2 utilizing a Web browser submits anorder to the Eservices translation portal embodied in the Web server 10through the Internet 6. The server 10 stores the documents in a filesystem disposed within the memory 15. Memory 15 includes file system 12and translation database 20 shown in FIG. 1. Server 10 also launches theworkflow extraction process to extract the translatable strings whichare stored in the translation memory database of memory 15, which iscarried out by the workflow process 80. The workflow process 80 alsoincludes the reuse of prior translations, where a search is made betweenthe translatable strings of a current project and strings which havepreviously been processed, to provide a translation when a match isfound.

In FIG. 11, the translation order assignment flow is shown. The workflowprocess 80 creates a project file and stores that in the file system ofmemory 15. The workflow process 80 then sends an E-mail 82 to thetranslator 4. The E-mail contains information about the order, thedownload location, a hyperlink to the ETP page having a link to theInternet site for downloading the file(s) via Web based file transfermechanisms including but not limited to File Transfer Protocol (FTP).The translator 4 utilizing the Web browser browses the ETP Web pagecontaining the Web download link to the project file (e.g. via FTP) byutilizing the hyperlink contained in the E-mail 82. Using the browser,the translator 4 downloads the project file from the Web download siteand then invokes the local translation software and proceeds to thenperform the translation task.

Upon completion of the translation task, the translator then uploads thetranslated document, which process is illustrated in FIG. 12. Thetranslator 4 utilizing a Web browser uploads the translated projectthrough the Internet 6 to the ETP server 10. The server 10 saves theproject to the file system in memory 15 and notifies the workflowprocess 80 that the files are ready. The workflow process 80 handles theflow from reviewers to accept or reject the translation. If the revieweraccepts the project files then the workflow process 80 will store thetranslated document in the translation memory database, within memory15. Finally, the translated files are provided to the customer. In orderto complete that process, the workflow process 80 sends an E-mail to thecustomer which contains information about the order, the downloadlocation for the translated documents and a hyperlink to the ETP pagewith a Web download link to the project file (translated documents) viaWeb based file transfer mechanisms including but not limited to FileTransfer Protocol (FTP). A customer, utilizing their browser, employsthe hyperlink to access the Web download link to the project, and thenutilizing that link, downloads the translated file.

The process for creating a default glossary, block 272 of FIG. 6, isshown in FIG. 13. In FIG. 13, the flow starts with a decision block 400wherein it is determined whether a user interface and thus textsincluded in the user interface exists or whether there is seed data.Seed data is a list of terms which come with initial softwareinstallation or are related to and are usually peculiar to a particularindustry. If there is text embedded in a user interface—or seed data,the flow passes to block 402 wherein text strings are extracted fromthat data or user interface to create what is termed a type 1 glossary.If no user interface or seed data is provided, or subsequent to creatingthe type 1 glossary in block 402, the flow passes to block 404 wherein alinguistic engine, such as use of an electronic dictionary is used totry and match up long phrases and create a type 2 glossary. From block404, the flow passes to block 406, wherein redundant strings, stringswith more than one reference count and having less than five words arefurther identified as a type 3 glossary. From block 406, the flow passesto block 408, wherein the three types of glossaries are merged togetherand redundancies removed. From block 408, the block passes to block 410where a customer glossary, if provided, is imported into the system.

Flow then passes to block 412, wherein the merged glossary is comparedagainst the customer's glossary to find any conflicts. If conflicts arefound, the flow passes to block 414, wherein the customer is requestedto review the conflicts and make additions or corrections to thegenerated glossary. Flow, of course, would then pass back to the parentprocess.

As previously discussed, the translation database of the presentinvention provides great efficiencies in reducing the translationworkload required of vendors. As an example, FIG. 14 is provided toillustrate the comparison which is carried out utilizing the translationdatabase. Thus, when a new project 108, having translatable strings 110,112, 114 and 116, to be translated is entered into the system, it iscompared with prior projects that have been provided. The match need notbe exact, so that another project having the same or similar strings maybe found. The comparison may then identify a prior project 100 havingstrings 102, 104 and 106 as being identified as being a close match. Thedifference between the project 100 and the new project 108 is a singlestring 110, thus the translation that was utilized for project 100 maybe utilized again for project 108, with only the string 110 remaining tobe translated. By that process, the translation workload, which must becontracted out, is minimized. In addition to the project level matching,system 1000 performs the translatable string level searching to furtherreduce the manual translation workload.

In the foregoing embodiments, the translator 4 plays a major role. Asshown in FIG. 14, the foregoing embodiment improves the translationprocess by utilizing pairs of data strings and prior translations. Oncethe translation is constructed, the translator 4 has the task ofreviewing the translation. When there is no corresponding target stringfor a source string, it is the translator's task to provide atranslation of the source string. The embodiment shown in FIG. 15illustrates a method that does not rely as heavily on the development ofpairs of sentences in both source and target languages in thetranslation memory database 20 shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 and database 15shown in FIGS. 11 and 12. The embodiment shown in FIG. 15 illustratesthe functioning of a translation system that minimizes the reliance onhuman translator 4 to correct a translation generated by machinetranslation (MT).

As discussed previously with regard to FIG. 5, the actual documenttranslation process is initiated in block 210 and the translateddocument is generated in block 212. FIG. 15 illustrates an embodiment ofthis translation process. The translation process starts at block 500. Asource data string for translation is input in block 502. The systemthen searches the translation memory for a similar source string havinga corresponding translated target string in block 504. In block 506, ifa match is found the target string is output for subsequent review bythe translator 4 in block 520. If no match for the source string isfound in decision block 504, the source string is sent to the machinetranslation in block 508.

In block 508, the machine translation produces a target string. Thistarget string is produced by utilizing phrases that have already beentranslated in different sentences stored in the translation memory. Thetarget string that is produced in this manner may contain the correctterms and phrases, but will likely be ill-formed. Instead of sendingthis target string to the translator 4 for correction, the systemsearches for a matching target string in the translation memory in block510. This search performed in block 508 can be performed for allavailable target sentences, even if the sentences are not paired up withcorresponding source language.

In performing the machine translation in block 508, example basedmachine translation may be used. Such example based machine translationis a more language independent approach than machine translation.Example based machine translation can work with units of data smallerthan the sentences utilized in machine translation. Further, examplebased machine translation uses a bilingual corpus to align not onlysentences, but also phrases or even words from source language to targetlanguage. If a target sentence corresponding to a source sentence is notfound, a target sentence might be built from phrases that have beenalready translated in different sentences stored in the translationmemory. However, while a well defined domain example based machinetranslation can retrieve correct terms and phrases, it has a troublegenerating well formed sentences.

In decision block 512, if a target sentence is found that is a goodmatch, the target sentence is sent for review by the translator 4 inblock 520, since this sentence will most likely be a well formed, humancreated sentence. On the other hand, if a good match is not found inblock 512, then the machine translation developed in block 508 ispresented in block 514 for review by the translator 4 in block 520.

By the process illustrated in FIG. 15, the work of the human translatoris reduced due to the fact the more well-formed sentences are output asopposed to machine translated sentences which have a higher likelihoodof requiring editing. The system yields a fairly readable automatictranslation without human translators. This is due in large part to thefact that sentences that have a match in block 506 are very likely to bewell-formed human sentences, and instead of initially outputting themachine translation immediately from block 508, that sentence iscompared to other target sentences in memory to try to locate a matchingsentence, which in all likelihood will be a better-formed sentence thanthe machine derived one.

The method set forth in FIG. 15 can be implemented in the system shownin FIGS. 1-3, 10 and 12. Further, the method illustrated in FIG. 15 canbe incorporated in the translation process shown in FIG. 5.

While illustrative systems and methods as described herein embodyingvarious aspects of the present invention are shown by way of example, itwill be understood, of course, that the invention is not limited tothese embodiments. Modifications may be made by those skilled in theart, particularly in light of the foregoing teachings. For example, eachof the elements of the aforementioned embodiments may be utilized aloneor in combination with elements of the other embodiments. In addition,aspects of the invention have been pointed out in the appended claims;however these claims are illustrative in that the invention is intendedto include the elements and steps described herein in any combination orsub combination. It will also be appreciated and understood thatmodifications may be made without departing from the true spirit andscope of the invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for translating data from a sourcelanguage to a target language, comprising: inputting source data fortranslation; searching a database for a source string similar to theinputted source data, said source string having a correspondingtranslated target string; outputting said corresponding translatedtarget string, if said source data string similar to said inputtedsource data string is found, for subsequent review by a translator; andsending said matching target string for subsequent review by saidtranslator if said matching target string is found; and
 2. The method ofclaim 1, further comprising: machine translating said inputted sourcedata if said source data string similar to said inputted source datastring is not found, said machine translating producing a target string;searching said database for a target string matching the target stringproduced by said machine translating; and sending said machinetranslated target string for subsequent review by said translator if amatch for said machine translated target string is not found in saiddatabase.